Hull College

Hull College has been awarded 5 stars in the Recognised for Excellence (R4E) programme, the highest level of achievement, with an EFQM Excellence Model score in excess of 550 points.

Validated excellence

Hull College applied for Committed to Excellence (C2E) in 2007 after consulting with another successful college, Bedford College. It completed C2E the following year after implementing improvement projects that focused on a leadership development programme, implementing a balanced scorecard and formalising the employee induction programme.

In the C2E feedback report the validator highlighted some key areas where the organisation was already excelling. These included a high level of staff engagement, strong leadership and robust project management skills.

Flexible approach

The college kept the momentum going and signed up for R4E soon after completing C2E. It decided to use the flexible approach, submitting a six-page organisation introduction document, followed by a planning day and a site visit.

The purpose of the planning day is for the assessors to familiarise themselves and learn more about the organisation. It is also a time to plan the assessment and what needs to be done in preparation for this, particularly in relation to sources of evidence.

One of the best features of R4E is that it is not time sensitive, giving applicants the flexibility to choose their own assessment dates. During the site visit a total of 106 people were interviewed and visits were made to three locations, with interviewees coming from many different areas of the organisation. On the final day a short presentation was given to key people and the announcement was made of the 5-star success.

The feedback report outlined some of the reasons why Hull College achieved such a good score:

• Regularly reviewed values, vision and strategy
• Strong leadership
• Innovation firmly embedded into the operational culture
• Well integrated approach to corporate social responsibility
• Strong commitment to people training and development
• Clearly identified strategic partnerships
• Strong, sustained performance in customer and key results

'The college is delighted to have achieved 5-star recognition at its first attempt. This reflects the huge commitment by governors, managers, staff, students and key stakeholders to sustain organisational excellence. The assessment process not only recognised our excellence but was also an invaluable tool in highlighting to us areas where we can enhance what we do to sustain our outstanding performance.

No doubt Hull College will not be resting on its laurels. Staff will use the feedback report as a tool to focus improvement activity and to drive performance levels even higher. We could even be looking at a winner of the UK Excellence Award in the not too distant future - watch this space...'
Gary Warke, Deputy Principal and Deputy Chief Executive, Hull College

Find out more

For more details about R4E and the EFQM Levels of Excellence programme, please call Ian Swain on 020 7654 5009 or contact us online.

Read more case studies.

Tweet